Metropolitain Planning Organization (MPOs) traffic engineering and safety studies are sponsored by the Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP). The first study began in 2004. The studies include evaluating 30 to 40 high crash intersections in each MPO. Field data including condition diagrams (within 150 feet of each approach leg), volume counts, existing signal timing plans, and collision diagrams (collected from Michigan State Police crash database) are collected for each intersection. Speed data is also collected in between intersections and during off-peak periods. The collected data is analyzed and mprovements to each intersection are recommended in order to improve the safety and operations of each intersection. Recommendations are provided to OHSP for them to follow through with their discretion. The following is a list of the current and past MPOs that have been studied.

Dynamic Late Lane Merge System

The Dynamic Late Lane Merge System (DLLMS) study was sponsored by the Michigan Department of Transportation and was completed in 2007. In normal work zones with lane closures, drivers do not merge at any one definite point, thus often causing a sudden interruption in traffic flow and sometimes higher delay and longer queue. The Dynamic Late Lane Merge System (DLLMS) is used to specify a definite merge point, improve the flow of congested work zones, and reduce queue lengths in travel lanes. The DLLMS was implemented on three freeway segments in the State of Michigan that were reduced from two lanes to one lane, due to highway construction work zones. The DLLMS directed traffic to use both lanes (open and closed lanes) until the designated “merge point” (close to the taper) where traffic from each lane was instructed to take turns merging into the open lane. Based on travel time characteristics, merge locations, and throughput, the effectiveness of the DLLMS was evaluated as a part of this study. The before period data was not available; therefore, a conventional work zone merge system, located on eastbound I-94, was used as a control site for the westbound I-94 test site. The comparison of the I-94 control and test sites indicated that the presence of the DLLMS improved the flow of travel and increased the percentage of vehicles that merged at or near the designated taper location. Based on the expected travel time savings, at a $5.00/hour value of time, the benefit to cost ratio will be greater than one, indicating that the monetary benefits of the DLLMS outweigh the cost of the system.

This study was sponsored by the Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) and was conducted in order to identify locations for targeted enforcement for the reduction of speed-related crashes at three selected counties in Michigan. The first task of the study was to perform a countywide crash analysis in order to identify candidate counties for targeted enforcement. Twelve counties were selected and recommended to OHSP that included six rural counties and six urban counties. Out of 12 candidate counties, OHSP selected Alger County, Clinton County and Ottawa County for further detailed traffic crash analysis. A traffic crash analysis was performed for these three counties and the 20 highest speed-related crash locations were identified. A more detailed traffic crash and site characteristic analysis was performed for the top 20 locations in each of these three counties. From this analysis, 12+ locations in each county were recommended to OHSP for targeted police enforcement. Some engineering and educational countermeasures were also recommended for the locations identified. 

As a part of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Training Material Development program, the Wayne State University - Transportation Research Group (WSU-TRG) was awarded the Susan Harwood Training Grant to develop, evaluate and validate “classroom quality” training materials to address Construction Zone Hazards, specifically related to Highway Construction Work Zone and Traffic Control. Training materials were developed to supplement materials that are currently available from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other state and federal government and private agencies. The training program developed is targeted to highway and street construction workers, site supervisors, project managers and construction company officials. The training program is meant to increase safety awareness to make construction workers less vulnerable and less susceptible to severe injuries or death, increase awareness of safety hazards related to traffic control and work zone layouts and how to identify and mitigate them, and provide procedures that increase the skills of construction workers in preventing injuries. The training materials developed can be found at: http://webpages.eng.wayne.edu/osha/.  

The Child Restraint Device Use and Misuse Survey was sponsored by the Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) and was conducted by the Wayne State University – Transportation Research Group in 2005 and 2007. There were two portions of this study including an observational survey and an interview/inspection survey. The observational portion consisted of observing vehicles with children under the age of four as they drove through an intersection. The interview/inspection portion consisted of conducting interviews/inspections at fast-food restaurants, day care centers, shopping areas, and recreational locations. The overall objective of this study was to track the changes in child restraint use and misuse that have occurred since the previous observational studies. This survey provides valuable information regarding the changes in child restraint use in relation to various demographic groups throughout the State of Michigan. In addition, understanding the degree or severity of CRD misuse assists agencies in identifying educational efforts that can be created to reduce severe misuse of CRDs.

The motorcycle helmet use observation survey was sponsored by the Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) and completed in 2006. The State of Michigan requires that all motorcycle riders wear a helmet. Between the years 1994 and 2003, the total number of crashes increased overall. Two observational surveys were conducted for this study. The first survey was concurrent with the 2006 Click It or Ticket safety belt observational survey conducted between April and June and included 192 observational sites. Due to the low number of motorcycle observations, a second survey was conducted which focused upon targeted locations which motorcycle had a high probability of occurrence, such as restaurants, major downtown centers and motorcycle facilities. For the targeted survey, 50 additional sites were selected for observation. All motorcycles riders and passengers were observed for protective gear use and categorized by motorcycle type, gender, age and race. The observational survey found that 99.4 percent of motorcycle riders utilize helmets, although 44.2 percent of these riders utilized half-shell helmets. In addition, the majority of the motorcycle riders were improperly protected with 74.5 percent wearing short-sleeved tops, 12 percent wearing shorts, and nearly 3 percent wearing open-toed shoes. Sixty-eight (68) percent of the riders did not wear body armor and 81 percent did not wear goggles. The high percentage of helmet use may be due to the mandatory helmet law in Michigan; however, the use of the half-shells may still be a concern.